Unreleased iPod Touch 5 With Chamfered Edges and 30-Pin Dock Connector Shared Online - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Unreleased iPod Touch 5 With Chamfered Edges and 30-Pin Dock Connector Shared Online

Occasional leaker Mr White has today shared interesting images on Twitter of what appears to be an old-school fifth-generation iPod touch prototype with chamfered edges and a brushed aluminum finish.

mr white ipod touch 5 protoype3
The original iPod touch 5 that Apple released in October 2012 had a unibody anodized aluminum chassis with rounded edges, and was available in several colors, including slate.

mr white ipod touch 5 protoype2
Another interesting detail on the prototype, which lacks an Apple logo on the back, is the presence of a 30-pin dock connector, suggesting it was designed before Apple formally adopted Lightning.

Along with the iPhone 5, iPod nano (7th generation), and iPad (4th generation), the original iPod touch 5 was one of the first Apple devices to feature a Lightning port.

mr white ipod touch 5 protoype4
The prototype also has the headphone jack bottom-right, whereas on the iPod touch 5 it was located on the left. Apple discontinued the iPod touch 5 in 2015.

We haven't heard of any rumors suggesting Apple has an upgraded iPod touch in the works. The current seventh-generation iPod touch was the result of a refresh in May 2019, and is currently the only product in Apple's iPod product line, following the discontinuation of the iPod nano and iPod shuffle in 2017.

Related Forum: iPod touch and iPod

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:39 am PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system that is essentially a mix of tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a report this week, he said the operating system will feature a grid of icons, widgets, and apps, along with customizable clock faces. The new software platform is intended for Apple's long-rumored smart home hub. With built-in facial recognition,...
imac video apple feature

Apple Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever This Year

Wednesday July 29, 2026 12:03 pm PDT by
Apple this year acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014. This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019. Q.ai...
Apple Intelligence Comes Under Fire Feature

Apple Will 'Watch Everything Burn' When AI Bubble Bursts - Ed Zitron

Monday July 27, 2026 7:11 am PDT by
Memory prices have doubled, Macs and iPads have gone up, and iPhones are expected to follow. Ed Zitron – who writes the Where's Your Ed At newsletter, hosts the Better Offline podcast, and has been described by Politico as the AI boom's most "acerbic gadfly" – has spent years arguing the buildout driving those costs will never pay for itself. We asked him what happens to Apple if he's...

Top Rated Comments

67 months ago
hiPod

1TB, 3.5mm jack, DAC capable of High-Resolution Lossless

$999

£1,299

$4000 AUD

$5000 CAD
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
himanshumodi Avatar
67 months ago
I actually started off with iPod touch long before I got an iPhone. It was an absolutely solid device. Did unbelievable amount of gaming on that... with what are now "classics" on the app store. Was an awesome gadget.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
67 months ago
So Apple actually thought of using the iPhone 4/4s design for the iPod touch. Interesting. I'm guessing it was too expensive to make.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Spock Avatar
67 months ago

Good currency joke. But a lot of people would be interested in a high-end music player.
I’ve always joked that Apple should release an iPod with a high end DAC, headphone jack, lots of storage and a special music focused version of iOS. iPod Omega, the last iPod.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
67 months ago

I actually started off with iPod touch long before I got an iPhone. It was an absolutely solid device. Did unbelievable amount of gaming on that... with what are now "classics" on the app store. Was an awesome gadget.
Bah, real iPod fans played poker with a click wheel ;)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
67 months ago

They both look like they could have been released today, especially the left one
Is that because it is a timeless design though, or just that we've reached a state of device shape maturity which has barely seen any change in the last half dozen or so years?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)